WASHINGTON, Jan 26: Richard Darman, a former White House budget director who helped convince former President George H.W. Bush to renege on his no new taxes pledge, has died. He was 64.

Darman died on Friday in Washington after battling leukemia for several months, according to a statement issued by former Secretary of State James A. Baker III, a longtime friend.

Mr Darman was chief architect of a compromise designed to reduce the federal budget deficit. Although it drew praise from many economic analysts, the plan included tax increases that broke Bush’s 1988 election promise, “Read my lips, no new taxes!”

Although the change of policy is partly blamed for Bush’s re-election defeat to Bill Clinton in 1992, it contributed to balancing the federal budgets.

A talented and tough negotiator, Darman sometimes drew criticism for being abrasive, intellectually arrogant and overly concerned with his standing in the White House pecking order.

He had a reputation for being so crafty that “Darmanesque” became a word to describe maneuvering that was clever and Machiavellian.

Darman had a more playful side and was known for pranks.—AP